SHENHUA Watermark has rejected claims it is trying to silence concerns over the impact on sacred Aboriginal sites from its proposed Liverpool Plains coalmine.
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The local Gomeroi community is furious that dozens of people were denied the chance to meet with the Planning Assessment Commission (PAC) on site this week.
Members of the PAC, which is the state’s peak independent planning authority, are tasked with determining whether the proposed open-cut mine at Breeza can proceed.
At the invitation of the Gomeroi community, PAC panellists travelled out to the proposed mine site to see first-hand some of the Aboriginal artefacts likely to be disturbed.
While 21 traditional custodians were permitted on the tour, another 60 Gomeroi people, including elders, were refused access on “safety grounds”.
Gomeroi woman Dolly Talbott said the snub was interpreted as Shenhua’s attempt to stifle “the voice of the Aboriginal people”.
“We were very disappointed as a community that Shenhua would not allow more people out on site,” she said.
“Aboriginal people work as a collective and there were a lot of people with significant ties to this area who wanted to speak about those grinding groove sites.
“It means (the PAC) is only getting the views of a few people rather than all of those who wanted to talk about their connection, spiritual needs and concerns about the destruction of them.”
However, Shenhua Watermark’s project manager Paul Jackson said the number of people allowed on the tour was “agreed in consultation with the PAC”.
“As the grinding groove sites are on private land subject to active agricultural activities, it was agreed to limit the number of people attending the site for safety reasons,” he said.
“Shenhua recognises the importance of these cultural sites and has undertaken exhaustive investigations to ensure they can be relocated, preserved and accessed by future generations.
“Specific details about the relocation of the grinding grooves must be addressed in the project’s Aboriginal cultural heritage management plan, which Shenhua is required to develop after the project is approved.”
Shenhua Watermark, which is a Chinese state-owned subsidiary, is seeking approval to extract 268 million tonnes of coal from deposits located south of Gunnedah.
The PAC is expected to make its determination on whether the controversial $1 billion coalmine should proceed by the end of February.
